User Health Profiles Derived From Oral Care Implements

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method includes a step of presenting an indication of a health profile of a person based on information obtained from an oral care implement. Also, a method includes displaying an indication of a history of the health profile of a a person based on second information previously received from the oral care implement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tooth brushing is part of a daily oral hygiene activity. Proper dentalcare involves regular flossing, brushing and dental checkups. Accordingto the American Dental Association, a major source of bad breath inhealthy people is microbial deposits on the tongue, where a bacterialcoating harbors organisms and debris that contribute to bad breath.Tissue in the mouth, and especially the tongue, is a haven for thegrowth of microorganisms. Anaerobic flora and bacteria residing on thetongue and other soft tissues in the mouth play a role in thedevelopment of chronic bad breath commonly called halitosis. In general,the bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSC). If there is enoughbuildup of the sulfur compounds, the result can be bad breath or oralmalodor.

Dentists generally recommend that an individual brush his or her teethfor a minimum interval per cleaning, such as two minutes. Despite suchrecommendations, many individuals, especially young children, do notregularly brush their teeth for the recommended minimum interval. Suchhabits often can be attributed to the individual regarding toothbrushing as a mundane duty with few pleasurable aspects. Dental checkupsto a dentist office are typically the only feedback a person receives ontheir dental cleaning efforts. There is unfortunately ample time betweencheckups for poor dental habits to cause problems. For example,gingivitis, periodontal disease, and a host of other problems can bemagnified if poor dental cleaning habits are not rectified promptly.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are directed to providing an oral careimplement (such as a toothbrush) having an oral care diagnostic feature.Various aspects of the oral care implement may improve dental care byproviding feedback on a user's brushing efforts.

Further aspects are directed to providing a health profile to the userbased on information from such a diagnostically-capable oral careimplement, or a conventional oral care implement. The health profile maybe created by analyzing information obtained from the oral careimplement and presenting representations of certain health aspects. Thehealth aspects may include indications relating, for example, to whethercertain oral or non-oral diseases are suspected, as well as to whethercertain brushing techniques are being properly executed. This type ofhealth profile may, in certain circumstances, provide even moreinformation to a user than may be available via feedback provided by theoral care implement itself.

Still further aspects are directed to providing a health profile servicebusiness, such as over the Internet and/or through a brick-and-mortarboutique storefront. In such a case, data from the oral care implement,or even the oral care implement itself, may be provided to the healthprofile service. The service may in turn process the data and/or oralcare implement to generate the health profile, which is then provided tothe customer/user of the oral care implement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side, cross-sectional view of a top portion of anillustrative toothbrush having one or more sensors.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative functional block diagram of the toothbrush ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an illustrative system andprocess for providing a health profile of a customer from data gatheredfrom the customer's toothbrush.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of illustrative steps that may be performed toprovide the health profile.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative screen shot of a displayed web page providingrepresentation of the health profile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different figures identify the same orsimilar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates the top portion of an illustrative oral careimplement, such as a toothbrush 100. As illustrated, the toothbrush 100has a head 101 and a handle 102. The head 101 may include an oral careregion comprising one or more tooth cleaning elements 103, such asbristles. The head 101 and handle 102 may be made from any desiredmaterial, such as rigid plastics, resins, rubber, etc., such aspolypropylene.

As used herein, the term “tooth cleaning element” or “cleaning element”includes any type of structure that is commonly used or is suitable foruse in providing oral health benefits (e.g., tooth cleaning, toothpolishing, tooth whitening, massaging, stimulating, etc.) by makingcontact with portions of the teeth and gums. Such tooth cleaningelements include but are not limited to tufts of bristles that can beformed to have a number of different shapes and sizes and elastomericcleaning members that can be formed to have a number of different shapesand sizes, or a combination of both tufts of bristles and elastomericcleaning members.

The toothbrush 100 may include a number of additional components toprovide features for improved oral care. For example, the toothbrush 100may include a position sensor 104. The position sensor 104 may be anydesired device that can be used to detect a position (or orientation) ofthe toothbrush 100. For example, the position sensor 104 may be asingle- or multi-axis (e.g., 2-D or 3-D) accelerometer, and may be ofany desired accelerometer type (e.g., piezoelectric, capacitive orinductive, optical, etc.). The position sensor 104 may be a single,unitary component, or it may include multiple devices, such as multipleaccelerometers placed at different orientations. The position sensor 104may indicate, for example, the angular position with which the user isholding the toothbrush (e.g., 45 degrees with respect to the horizon).The position sensor 104 may also indicate, for example, whether thetoothbrush is being held bristle-side up or bristle-side down.

In one illustrative construction, the position sensor 104 may be anaccelerometer utilizing Micro-Electronic Mechanical System (MEMS)technology. The position sensor 104 may be embedded in the toothbrushduring a molding of toothbrush manufacturing, or may be applied at alater time such as by being in the form of a sticker applied on anexterior of the toothbrush body. A MEMS accelerometer device generates asignal representative of acceleration in a particular direction(“measurement direction”). The MEMS accelerometer detects gravitationalforce when not being accelerated. Accordingly, different altitudes ofthe MEMS accelerometer device with respect to the vertical can result indifferent readings which depend on the coincidence of the measurementdirection with the direction of the gravitation pull. The detection ofdifferent altitudes may be used to detect the position of the toothbrushand the relative change in position from a first state to a secondstate, such as from bristle-side to bristle-side down or vice-versa.

The toothbrush 100 may also include a diagnostic sensor or bio-sensor105. The diagnostic sensor 105 may include one or more individualizedsensors or sensor suites to detect various characteristics of a sampledliquid or vapor. For example, the diagnostic sensor 105 may include asensor configured to detect the pH of the sample, the electricalconductivity or resistivity of the sample, the presence of bacteria inthe sample, the presence of certain chemicals in the sample, or anyother desired characteristic. These components of the diagnostic sensor105 may work together to sense whether the sample contains evidence ofhalitosis, gingivitis, periodontitis, plaque, or any other undesiredcharacteristic. The sensed characteristics need not all be undesirable,either. For example, the diagnostic sensor 105 may be configured todetect the presence of flavanoid alcohols, oils or flavors, which may beindicative of the user having fresh or “good” smelling breath, or thatthe user has sufficiently brushed with a proscribed dentrifice.

In one construction, the diagnostic sensor 105 is configured to obtain aliquid or vapor sample for its sensing function. For example, thetoothbrush 100 may include one or more channel bristles 106, which maybe hollow tubes (e.g., including a lumen) that allow liquid and/orvapors to pass, such as oral fluids (e.g., salvia or breath). Thechannel bristles 106 may be coupled to the diagnostic sensor 105 toprovide the sample. The channel bristles 106 may rely simply oncapillary action and the motion of brushing to convey the sample, or thetoothbrush 100 may include pumps and/or other structures (notillustrated) to draw samples in and to purge the samples when thesensing is completed. Alternative configurations can be used as well.For example, the diagnostic sensor 105 may simply have a portion exposeddirectly to an outer surface of the toothbrush 100, such that samplingcan occur simply by the toothbrush 100 coming into contact with theliquid and/or vapor to be sampled. One example of a commerciallyavailable diagnostic sensor using MEMS microfluidics technology isprovided by STMicroelectronics of Geneva Switzerland, such as itsIN-CHECK platform. This particular system is based on a silicon chipthat integrates various functions including microfluidic handling, aminiaturized Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) reactor and a microarray.As one skilled in art would understand, PCR can be used to detect oralcare pathogens linked to halitosis, gingivitis, and periodontitis, forexample. Nevertheless, other diagnostic sensors can be used, such as apH sensor.

The toothbrush 100 may also include one or more pressure sensors 107.The pressure sensor 107 may be configured to detect the amount ofpressure or force that the user is using when brushing his/her teeth.Any type of pressure sensor 107 may be used. For example, astress/strain type of piezoelectric sensor may be placed at a neckportion (an area where the head 101 and handle 102 meet) to measure howfar the head 101 bends during brushing.

The various sensors 104, 105, 107 described above may be electrically orcommunicatively coupled to a processor 108. The processor 108 generallyhandles the information gathered by the sensors 104, 105, 107, andreports an analysis of that information to the user, to help inform theuser of the conditions within his/her mouth. For example, the toothbrush100 processor 108 may report that it has detected a higher than normallevel of plaque in the upper-left portion of the user's teeth.Additional details of the processor 108, and its operation, are foundfurther below.

The toothbrush 100 may also include one or more input/output (I/O)interfaces 109. The I/O interface 109 may contain any type of electricalinterface used to provide data to, or retrieve data from, the processor108. The I/O interface 109 may be a plug-in physical connection, such asthose used for radio headsets, Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE-1319Fire Wire, or any other wired interface. Alternatively, or additionally,the interface 109 may include wireless capabilities, such as Bluetoothor IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces and associated components. In yetanother construction, toothbrush 100 may be a ZIGBEE complaint device.ZIGBEE pertains to an industry specification for a suite ofcommunication protocols using small, low-power digital radio based onthe IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless personal area networks which isincorporated by reference herein. The radio-controlled configuration mayinclude a transmitter and receiver operating at 2.4 GHz, but otherfrequencies may be implemented in different geographic regions. The datatransfer rates can be 250 Kbs, but other data rates slightly lower orhigher could be used. Various commercially available ZIGBEE compliantmodules could be implemented. Other known wireless transmissionprotocols or wireless medium arrangements also can be employed. Theseinterfaces may be used to transmit data, such as the reports discussedbelow, to an external computing device, such as a personal computer oran Internet web server, as will be discussed further below.

Other components may also be included on the toothbrush 100. Forexample, a digital display (not shown) may be placed on the toothbrushto assist in reporting output. The display may include light-emittingdiode (LED) displays, an alphanumeric display screen, individual lights,or any other desired form of visual output. For example, the display maybe an organic LED (or array thereof) that can be tuned to provide adesired luminescent characteristic such as color, temperature, intensityetc. OLED technology can be embedded into the toothbrush molding, or canbe applied to the surface of the toothbrush body. It should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is notlimited to any particular type of display.

The toothbrush 100 may also include one or more speakers (not shown), toallow the processor 108 to generate audible sounds and tones.

A power source (not shown) for the processor 108 and sensors may also beincluded. The power source may simply be one or more batteries in alower portion of the handle 102. Alternative sources, such as solar,motion-based, thermal, etc., may also be used.

FIG. 2 illustrates example components of the processor 108. Theprocessor 108 may be a single integrated circuit (e.g., anapplication-specific integrated circuit), multiple interconnectedcircuits, and/or hard-wired circuit logic to perform as describedherein. Similarly, the individual components depicted in FIG. 2 may alsobe integrated, separated or hard-wired as well. The processor 108 mayinclude a central processing unit (CPU) 201, which may be a programmabledevice or dedicated logic circuit or integrated circuit. The CPU 201 mayoperate with a memory 202, which may be any type of recordable,computer-readable media. For example, memory 202 may be a static flashmemory, dynamic memory, or any other type of electronic storage. In someembodiments, the CPU 201 is a general programmable device, and thememory 202 stores instructions that cause the CPU 201 to perform thevarious functions described herein.

Those functions include, for example, obtaining information from thevarious sensors. For example, the processor 108 may have a positionsensor interface 203, through which the CPU 201 may communicate with theposition sensor 104. The interface may, for example, simply be a pin onan integrated circuit, a wire, or any other desired type of interface,and may vary depending on the type of position sensor chosen. Similarly,the processor 108 may have an I/O interface 206, which can serve as aninterface through which the CPU 201 receives and/or transmits data. Thelines illustrating wire connections between these components need not beliterally as depicted, and alternative interconnections may be used.

As mentioned previously, the data output from toothbrush 100 by I/Ointerface 206 may be provided to an external computing device. Thiscomputing device (or a system of computing devices) may use this data tocreate a health profile of the user of toothbrush 100.

A health profile includes an indication of one or more aspects of thehealth of an individual. The health aspects may be related to oralhealth, such as whether the individual has or is suspected of havinggingivitis, periodiontal gum disease, plaque, and/or halitosis and thelike. The health aspects may additionally or alternatively be related tooral-related health indicators, such as whether the individual is, or issuspected of, or is at increased risk of, having heart disease, such asbased on the presence of pathogens in the individual's mouth, and/or theindividual's body temperature. The health aspects may additionally oralternatively be related to oral care events relating to the use of thetoothbrush itself, such as whether the toothbrush is being usedproperly. For instance, some health aspects may indicate whether atoothbrush was applied with excessive pressure to the teeth or gums,whether the toothbrush was used for a sufficient time in a brushingepisode, and/or whether the brushing efficiency was thorough or uneven.

Referring to FIG. 3, a functional block diagram of an illustrativesystem and process for providing a health profile of a customer fromdata gathered from the customer's toothbrush is shown. In this example,a system for providing a health profile may include a first computingdevice 303, a second computing device 305, and/or a third computingdevice 309. In addition, one or more of first, second, and thirdcomputing devices 303, 305, 309 may include or be coupled with a storagedevice and/or a printer. In the example shown, computing device 305 iscoupled with a storage device 307 and a printer 309.

First, second, and third computing devices 303, 305, 309 may each be anytype of computing device, such as one or more laptop computers, desktopcomputers, personal digital assistants, servers, and/or cellular phones.Each of computing devices 303, 305, 309 may also include a communicationinterface for sending and/or receiving data to/from a location externalto the respective computing device. For example, computing devices 303,305, 309 may be capable of communicating data back and forth betweeneach other such as via the Internet 304, another type of network such asa cellular and/or landline telephone network, and/or via a direct wiredand/or wireless connection.

In operation, information about a toothbrush or other type of oral careimplement may be provided to first computing device 303. Two alternativescenarios are shown in FIG. 3. In a first scenario, toothbrush 100 isconfigured such as shown in FIG. 1. In other words, toothbrush 100 hassensors and a means for outputting data from those sensors. In thiscase, data may be retrieved from toothbrush 100 (e.g., from I/Ointerface 206) and sent directly to first computing device 303.

In a second scenario, a toothbrush 301 may be provided that does nothave any data output capability. For example, toothbrush 301 may be aconventional toothbrush. In such a case, a chemical and/or biologicalphysical sample may be taken from toothbrush 301 and provided to ananalysis processor 302 for analyzing the sample. The sample may include,for example, a portion of toothbrush 301 (or in fact the entirety oftoothbrush 301), or a residue disposed on toothbrush 301 that may beremoved from toothbrush 301 by any of various means such as by wiping orby dissolving using a solvent. Analysis processor 302 may include, forinstance, a silicon chip that integrates the functions of microfluidichandling, a miniaturized PCR reactor, and a microarray. As previouslymentioned, PCR can be used to detect oral care pathogens linked tohalitosis, gingivitis, and periodontitis, for example. Other diagnosticsensors can additionally or alternatively be used in analysis processor302, such as a pH sensor. Regardless of how the sample is analyzed inprocessor 302, the results of processor 302 may be entered (manually orautomatically) into first computing device 303.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow chart of an illustrative method forproviding a health profile of a customer is shown. An oral careimplement (such as toothbrush 100 or toothbrush 301) is provided to andused by a customer in step 401. The oral care implement may either beused by the customer at his home, or the customer may go to a serviceprovider where the customer is given the oral care implement to use atthe service provider's site. At step 402, the oral care implement istransferred from the customer and received by the service provider. Itis determined in step 403 whether the oral care implement is of a typethat can provide data or of a type that should be analyzed usingprocessor 302. In either case, data representing information obtainedfrom the toothbrush is inputted to first computing device 303 in step405.

Returning to the example of FIG. 3, first computing device 303 mayprocess the input data and provide the information represented by thedata to second computing device 305 via the Internet 304. Then, secondcomputing device 305 may interpret the received data to create a healthprofile (step 406 in FIG. 4). The health profile may additionally bestored, such as in storage device 307. Storage device 307 may be any oneor more devices suitable for storing data, such as semiconductor memory,hard drives, magnetic tape, optical drives, etc.

Next, the health profile may be output or otherwise made available to auser (step 407 in FIG. 4), such as by displaying a representation of thehealth profile on a computer display, by providing a displayedrepresentation of the health profile on a website that is made availablevia the Internet 304, by printing a representation of the health profileon printer 308, and/or by emailing a representation of the healthprofile such as to the user of toothbrush 100 or 301. Where a websiteprovides the health profile, the website may be accessed and viewed byany authorized device such as third computing device 309 running a webbrowser. Where an email is sent, the email may also be received by thirdcomputing device 309.

The present example may be further expanded into a method of providingoral health services. More specifically, a health profile serviceprovider can cater to the public consumer by providing the healthprofile. For example, computing devices 303 and 305, printer 308,storage device 307, and processor 302 may be owned by or otherwise underthe control of the service provider. The toothbrush 100/301 andcomputing device 309 may be owned by or otherwise under the control ofeither the service provider or a customer of the service provider. Itcan be envisioned that such a service provider may provide one or morebrick-and-mortar boutiques to which customers may come to use or bringthe toothbrushes or other oral care implements for processing andobtaining health profiles. Alternatively, if the toothbrush includes adata output capability, such as toothbrush 100, the customer may providethe data rather than the physical toothbrush for processing. In additionto or as an alternative to brick-and-mortar boutique storefronts, theservice provider may operate over the Internet or by mail order suchthat the customer may upload data via the Internet to the remotebusiness entity, or send the toothbrush to the business entity throughthe mail.

Alternatively, a private user may own or otherwise exercise control overcomputing device 303, and also over processor 302. In that context (andin some circumstances in the previously-described service providercontext), steps 406 and 407 may be performed by computing device 303such that the remaining elements 304-309 are not needed.

In general, any of the steps in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be implemented by orassisted by one or more of computing devices 303, 305, and/or 309, suchas by programming or otherwise configuring these computing devices withsoftware in the form of computer-executable instructions and/or datastored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium mayinclude the storage media of any one or more storage devices (such asstorage device 307 and/or storage devices inherent to computing devices303, 305, and 309). As a non-limiting example, a computer-readablemedium may include one or more of any of the following in anycombination: a computer memory chip, a magnetic disc or tape, or anoptical disc.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a displayed representation of a health careprofile. This displayed content (i.e., the displayed representation) maybe provided by any of computing devices 303, 305, or 309. In someembodiments, the displayed content may be provided on a website or in anemail. Where the displayed content is provided on a website, forexample, the website may be interactive such that the displayed contentchanges in response to user selections.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the displayed content includes anidentification of the toothbrush user and/or customer (in this case,“John Q. Doe”), and indications of various aspects of the healthprofile, including whether or not the following conditions have beendetected based on information obtained from toothbrush 100 or 301:periodontal gum disease, gingivitis, plaque, and halitosis (bad breath).In addition, the indicated aspects further include in this example anindication of the brushing pressure experienced by the toothbrush, aswell as an indication of the brushing thoroughness experienced by thetoothbrush. It will be understood that these aspects are merelyillustrative, and that any combination of these and/or other healthprofile aspects may be indicated. The indicated health aspects mayinclude aspects related to bad health (e.g., the presence of a disease,such as indicated by the presence of a pathogen or the presence orabsence of another chemical) and/or aspects related to good health(e.g., the presence of certain desirable flavanoids indicative of theactivity of a breath freshener). The aspects of good health and badhealth may include, but are not limited to, aspects of good and bad oralhealth. Bad oral health aspects may include, for example, those aspectsassociated with oral diseases or with poor oral care practicesrecognized or otherwise identified by the American Dental Association.Likewise, good oral health aspects may include, for example, thoseaspects associated with the lack of such oral diseases, or with oralcare practices accepted by the American Dental Association.

The displayed content may further include a graphical depiction of anoral cavity divided into multiple different regions. This regionalinformation may be alternatively provided textually rather thangraphically. In this case, the various regions are the tongue 501, theupper left quadrant of teeth and/or gums 502, the upper right quadrantof teeth and/or gums 503, the lower left quadrant of teeth and/or gums504, and the lower right quadrant of teeth and/or gums 505. Otherregions may be defined as well. For example, the quadrants 502-505 maybe further divided into smaller regions, and the tongue 501 may also besubdivided into regions. As another example, the may be only threeregions: a tongue region, an upper teeth/gum region, and a lowerteeth/gum region. In still another example, there may be no tongueregion at all.

Where the display is interactive, the user may select any one of thedisplayed health aspects to learn more about the selected health aspect.Selection may be performed in any manner desired, such as by the user“clicking” a mouse pointer on the displayed health aspect to beselected, or by using a keyboard to control a selection cursor. In anyevent, selection of a displayed health aspect may cause the displayedcontent to provide additional information such as an indication of whichof the regions 501-505 of the oral cavity is affected by the selectedhealth aspect (such as by highlighting or otherwise visuallydistinguishing the affected oral cavity regions), or an indication ofrecommended products for addressing the health aspect or other advicefor dealing with the health aspect. Such products may include, forexample, a particular oral care implement or dentifrice. The indicationof the particular regions 501-505 may be obtained from data originallygenerated by position sensor 104 in toothbrush 100, for example.

In the present example as shown in FIG. 5, the health aspect “brushingpressure” has been selected (indicated by the box displayed around thishealth aspect), which has been indicated as being presently at the “toohard” level (from a selection of “too hard,” “medium,” and “too soft”).As a result of the user selection, a user-selectable hyperlink to aproduct for sale that is recommended for assisting the user with properbrushing pressure may be displayed, and/or advice on how to apply properbrushing pressure. It will be understood that user selection of any ofthe other displayed health aspects may result in a similar set ofinformation customized to the particular selected health aspect.

Also as a result of the user selection of a particular health aspect, anindication of historical values associated with that health aspect maybe displayed. For instance, a bar chart 506 or other graphicalrepresentation may display previous values or other indications ofprevious results for that health aspect for the particular user (in thiscase, for user John Q. Doe). To accomplish this, data representing eachuser's health profile may be stored (such as in storage device 307) andassociated with the respective user, thereby accumulating a healthprofile history for each user.

In alternative embodiments, information about recommended products forsale, advice about dealing with a particular health aspects, indicationsof oral cavity regions, and/or health profile history may be providedregardless of user selection.

This same information shown on the display of FIG. 5 may be printed onpaper by printer 308 and mailed or otherwise provided to the customer orother user of the toothbrush, and/or included in an email to thecustomer or other user.

While many examples have been discussed with respect to using atoothbrush (such as toothbrushes 100 and 301), the various features andsteps described herein may be used in connection with any type of oralcare implement having a tooth cleaning element. Also, while theinvention has been described with respect to specific examples includingpresently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilledin the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations andpermutations of the above described systems and techniques. Thus, thespirit and scope of the invention should be construed broadly as setforth in the appended claims.

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: deriving a health profileof an individual from information obtained from an oral care implement;and displaying a representation of the health profile on a display. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the representation of the health profilecomprises a displayed indication of a good health aspect or a bad healthaspect.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the representation of thehealth profile comprises a displayed indication of whether the user hasgingivitis.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, viathe Internet, data representing the information.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the display is separate from the oral care implement.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the representation of the health profilecomprises a displayed indication of which of a plurality of at least twodifferent regions of an oral cavity is associated with an aspect of thehealth profile.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least twodifferent regions comprise an upper teeth region and a lower teethregion.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving theinformation in the form of data transmitted by the oral care implement.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining a physical samplefrom the oral care implement and determining the information based onthe sample.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the oral care implementcomprises a toothbrush.
 11. A computer-implemented method, comprisingdisplaying a representation of a health profile of an individual basedon first information obtained from an oral care implement, therepresentation further including a displayed indication of a history ofthe health profile of the individual based on second informationpreviously obtained from an oral care implement.
 12. The method of claim11, further comprising receiving, via the Internet, data representingthe information.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein displayingcomprises displaying the indication at a display separate from the oralcare implement.
 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising receivingthe information in the form of data transmitted by the oral careimplement.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising obtaining aphysical sample from the oral care implement and determining theinformation based on the sample.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein theoral care implement comprises a toothbrush.
 17. A computer-readablemedium storing computer-executable instructions for performing a method,the method comprising: receiving first data representing a property ofan oral care implement; determining a health profile of an individualbased on the first data; generating second data representing the healthprofile.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, furthercomprising determining a recommendation for improving health based onthe health profile, wherein the second data further represents therecommendation.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, whereinthe recommendation comprises a recommendation to use a particular oralcare implement.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, whereinthe recommendation comprises a recommendation to use a particulardentifrice.
 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, furthercomprising: receiving third data representing a user selection of one ofa plurality of aspects of the health profile; and generating fourth datarepresenting which of a plurality of regions in an oral cavity isassociated with the selected aspect.
 22. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein the first data represents a plurality of values eachassociated with a different health aspect, and determining comprisesdetermining whether each of the health aspects is present based on thefirst data.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein themethod further comprises displaying a representation of the second data.